Agreement To Build Greek Orthodox Church At Ground Zero/World Trade Center Site Reached

Lower Manhattan, October 14, 2011 - More than a decade after the destruction caused by the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, an agreement was signed between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the leadership of the Greek Orthodox St. Nicholas Church in Lower Manhattan. The only religious house of worship that was flattened, will be built at 130 Liberty Street instead of at their previous location.

The deal was brokered by Governor Cuomo’s office which effectively was a land swap for a tract of land the Port needed for security reasons. The church's previous site at 155 Cedar Street was exchanged for the nearby former Deutche Bank building plot at 130 Liberty Street. The agreement states that the Port will build a platform the church can build upon, at a cost not to exceed $25 million.

It is unfortunate that a lawsuit and an intervention by Governor Andrew Cuomo was needed to reach this milestone. I look forward to entering this new church dedicated to the patron saint of Bari, Italy - St. Nicholas.